Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche
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Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche Münzthal |
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| region | Grand Est | |
| Department | Moselle | |
| Arrondissement | Sarreguemines | |
| Canton | Bitche | |
| Community association | Pays de Bitche | |
| Coordinates | 48 ° 59 ′ N , 7 ° 21 ′ E | |
| height | 256-403 m | |
| surface | 4.53 km 2 | |
| Residents | 490 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 108 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 57620 | |
| INSEE code | 57619 | |
| Website | saintlouislesbitche.info | |
Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche ( Lorraine. Minzdal , German until 1915 Münzthal-St. Louis , 1915-18 and 1940-44 Münztal ) is a French commune with 490 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Moselle department in the region Grand Est (until 2015 Lorraine ). It belongs to the Sarreguemines arrondissement and the Bitche canton and is part of the Northern Vosges Natural Park .
The Cristalleries de Saint-Louis , one of the most important and oldest crystal manufacturers in Europe, is based in the village .
geography
Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche is located in the north-east of Lorraine , in the Moselle department, a few kilometers south of Bitsch (French Bitche ), wedged into the narrow valley of the Münzthaler Bach (French ruisseau de Saint-Louis ) and surrounded by forest. If you drive down from Lviv into the small town and look over the houses pushing into every corner and the large, historic manufacturing buildings in the middle of the residential area, the place looks like a miniature version of a manufacturing town from the 19th century.
Neighboring communities of Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche are Montbronn in the west, Enchenberg in the northwest, Lemberg in the north and northeast, Götzenbrück in the southeast and Meisenthal in the southwest.
history
In 1586 the glassworks was relocated from Holbach to Münzthal. In the course of the Thirty Years War , however, the company went down. In 1767, King Louis XV. René-Francois Jolly and Pierre-Étienne Ollivier were given permission to build a new factory here, which was allowed to use the title "Royal Glazier". In memory of Louis IX. the manufactory was given the name "Saint-Louis". Little by little, craftsmen and tradesmen settled around the manufactory, and workers' apartments were also built. In 1781, the crystal manufactory was the first company on mainland Europe to produce lead crystal that was previously only produced in England .
In 1845 Münzthal-Saint-Louis became an independent municipality. Before it belonged to Lviv. From 1915 until the German defeat in the First World War , the place was not allowed to use its name affix St. Louis due to an imperial decree.
From 1897 Münzthal-Saint-Louis was the terminus of a branch line from Wingen-sur-Moder , which was mainly used for the infrastructure of the numerous glass manufacturers in the area. With the decline of the glass factories in most of the towns, rail traffic was stopped in 1969. With the exception of Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche, there are now glass factories in Bitscher Land only in Götzenbrück and Montbronn .
Population development
| year | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2007 | 2017 |
| Residents | 708 | 682 | 677 | 641 | 633 | 547 | 490 |
economy
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Today, as in the past, the historic crystal glass manufacture determines life in Münzthal-Saint-Louis. The Hermès Group has been the majority owner since 1989 and the sole owner of the manufacture since 1995. The takeover of Hèrmes saved production, extensive investments were made and old artisanal techniques of crystal glass production were revived. In addition, some historical crystal glass series have been included again in the program.
Culture and sights
The church of St. Louis, built in 1897 from the sandstone of the Vosges , was built largely through donations from the Coëtlosquet family, who had run the crystal factory for generations. The altar and the chandeliers inside the church are artfully crafted from Saint-Louis crystal glass.
The entire place with its manufacturing and administration buildings, mostly from the 19th century, is of architectural and historical interest.
In May 2007, the “La Grand Place” crystal museum was integrated into the historic manufactory building as post-modern architecture . The permanent exhibition shows Saint-Louis crystal from three centuries.
Personalities
- Jean Seitlinger (born November 16, 1924), long-time companion of Robert Schuman's , member of the National Assembly and the Council of Europe , from 1976 to 1983 first General Secretary of the European People's Party
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Alexander Jürgs: Crystal of Kings , in: Süddeutsche Zeitung , June 30, 2007, (weekend supplement) p. IV
- ↑ Till Ehrlich : Guardian of the Grail, in: Wein-Gourmet, Heft 2/2008, p. 125.
